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An Announcement and an Answer

Ok, so maybe more than one announcement. But humor me: I just couldn't pass up that opportunity for assonance (or is it alliteration? Oh 11th grade literary terms...) in the title.

Announcement 1: I didn't run the Cincy Half Marathon this weekend, like I had scheduled. The sprained ankle sort of precluded that from happening. I'm back to running now, and the ankle feels fine, but I figured it was smarter not to try and risk anything bay racing. Plus, the last time I took a week off before a half-marathon? Rock 'n Roll Half in Chicago this summer...it wasn't fun.

So next race: Thanksgiving Day 10k, per the schedule on the left-hand side of the page.

Announcement 2: I guess I kind of covered this in the previous announcement, but I'm back to running after the ankle issues. Took a week of little mileage, lots of ice, and a container of ibuprofen, but I'm ramping back up now. I don't think I should have lost too much fitness, so I plan on picking up about where I left off: jumping into workouts in preparation for the 10k in a month or so.

Answer: Over the course of the past few weeks, I've posted a few "clues" about upcoming "big news." But here it is. The moment you've all been waiting for. I hope you're all seated folks. (As if those clues weren't painfully obvious...)

I registered for the Boston Marathon this spring.

I wasn't even thinking of doing it until the week of registration. That's when I got a text from an old college teammate (Matt Weingardt) that basically said (paraphrasing here): "You should do Boston. Kate (another former teammate) is already in, and I'm waiting to get accepted." So I said (paraphrasing, again): "Well I dunno...but sure."

Then I remembered another college teammate, Caitlin (who killed it at the Columbus Marathon earlier today), was planning on doing Boston, too. And how could I turn down an XUXC reunion in Boston?

So I registered, paid $150 dollars, and got accepted. I'm in the race. But here's the one catch: I'm student-teaching in the spring. And the race is on a Monday. Which means I would have to miss a day of class. And that's generally frowned upon. So circumstance may dictate that I'm unable to run Boston. But that's a problem for future Tommy...let that guy deal with it.

I figure the reward of actually running the race outweighed the risk of not being able to run it (and losing 150 non-refundable dollars). I mean, it's one of the most prestigious races in the country, if not the world. There are people who go there whole lives trying to get in. And I had one week to make a decision...if I had waited until I found out about student-teaching, it'd be too late and the race would be closed (as it is now).

So we'll see if I'm actually able to race on Monday, April 15. But in deciding to register, my basic philosophy was: If you had the chance to do something great, a once-in-a-lifetime event, at the expense of one day of school/work...would you?

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